Design of a Lab built Fully Automated Microfluidic Fluorometric System for Fluorescent Dye Applications

microfluidic fluorometric system

Abstract

Microfluidics can process small amounts of fluids by using microscopic channels with microscale
dimensions ranging from tens to hundreds of micrometers. Many researchers have recently been
working on smaller analytical equipment, such as micro flow cytometers. These gadgets offer
numerous advantages, including portability, low cost, and low power consumption. It can also be
integrated with other microfluidic devices for multitasking applications. In this study, the
fluorescein dye was estimated using a lab-builtfully automated microfluidic fluorometric system.
The developed system contained a microfluidic chip with two lines, each four centimetres long
and with a volume of 15 μL. In this setup, two Arduino UNO (R3 version) microcontrollers were
programmed using homebrew software. The first was to manage the two improvised peristaltic
pumps, which successfully introduced the fluorescein dye to the water stream automatically,
replacing the manual injection. The volume of the fluorescein sample was modified by varying the
fluorescein line's run time. The second one was utilized to record the output signal. The method
accurately identified fluorescein concentrations up to 0.01 μg/mL and 0.999 as a regression
coefficient for six points. The RSD% (Relative Standard Deviation) for ten 0.08 μg/mL
fluorescein measurements was 0%, and the detection limit was 1x10-4 μg/mL. The suggested
method can measure 300 samples per hour while decreasing the amounts of reagents and waste.
This microfluidic fluorometric system has the potential to be used for fluorescent dye assays in a
variety of applications.